Annex 3

LGSCO/ Housing Ref	Directorate	Service Area	Summary of Final Decision	Actions	Date of final decision	Actions completed date	Actions completed in time Y/N	Decision
202003605	HHASC	Housing repairs	The complaint is in response to the resident’s request for replacement of his windows, and the landlord’s communication. The Ombudsman find there is no fault in the decision not to replace the windows.  However, fault has been found with the communication between the service and the customer.	Pay £75. Review Communications. Review complaints procedure.	02/12/2020	31/12/2020	Y	Upheld: Malad & Injustice
19012757	HHASC	Adult Social Care	Mr C complained to us about the way in which the Council carried out his financial assessment. He said the Council failed to make reasonable adjustments during the process and failed to properly deal with some of his disability related expenses (DREs). Mr C says this made him distressed and resulted in an assessed contribution he cannot afford. The Ombudsman found fault with regards to the Council’s actions, which caused an injustice. The Council has agreed to reconsider part of his expenses and share the lessons learned with its staff.	• Provide an apology to Mr C for the faults identified above and the distress these have cause him. It should also pay him £200. • Look into Mr C’s food wastage to decide if this can be reduced and/or whether it should allow a certain amount as DRE. It should explain its decision to Mr C and backdate the reduced contribution (if any) this may result in. • Review if it should treat some of Mr C’s transport costs as DRE by coming to a view about: 1. The extent to which he needs to use a taxi sometimes. 2. What his average travel costs are and to what extend this is covered by his PIP mobility. 3. To what extent visiting family and friends by train is vital to meet his need for maintaining relationships and if Mr C can still afford to pay for these train journeys in light of his weekly contribution. 4. The additional costs of Mr C’s diet, by providing support to Mr C to obtain the required financial information. • It should explain its decision to Mr C with regards to the above, and backdate any reduced contribution this may result in. • Once it has completed the above, and made any changes as needed to the contribution, it should come to a decision whether the final assessed weekly contribution is affordable for Mr C and explain this to him. • Share the lessons learned above with the Council’s teams responsible for carrying out financial assessments. • Remind its social care staff of the requirement to raise and discuss any special communication needs at the first opportunity and record, log in system and flag communication needs in such a way that they are sufficiently clear and comprehensive for staff of all departments who have access to this. • Ask its social care staff to review whether a flag currently exists for all their clients who may need one, and if the information included is sufficiently clear and comprehensive.	01/12/2020	21/01/2021	N -  Lack of engagement by customer - Ombudsman confirmed Remedy complete and satis	Upheld: Malad & Injustice
20000942	EAP	Parking	Mr X complains the Council wrongly pursued enforcement action against him regarding a Penalty Charge Notice. Mr X also complains about delays in the Council’s handling of the matter. He says the Council’s actions have caused him unnecessary distress and upset. He also says he has spent a considerable amount of time and trouble in dealing with his complaint. We find fault by the Council in this matter for which the Council has agreed a remedy.	pay 100 and remind officers of procedures	26/11/2020	22/1/20021	N- due to staff covering other areas	Upheld: Malad  & Injustice
19021254	EAP	Planning	Mr X complained about the Council’s decision to approve an application on land behind his former home. We ended our investigation because we are unlikely to recommend a remedy for Mr X.	NA	15/01/2021			Closed after initial enquiries - No further action
19009453	HHASC	Adult Social Care	Ms C complains her mother was taken into hospital with hypothermia, and about the time it took to move her mother back to her own home again, after she had been discharged from hospital. We found the Council should have ensured that, when it became aware of a heating problem at the property, that appropriate steps were taken to resolve this immediately. The Council has agreed to apologise for this.	Issue an apology	07/12/2020	31/12/2020	Y	Upheld: Malad, No Injustice
20008123	EAP	Planning	Mr X complains about the Council’s decision not to take enforcement action against a neighbour’s extension. We will not investigate this complaint because there is no evidence of fault by the Council.	na	23/12/2020	na	na	Closed after initial enquiries - No further action
20005860	CEC	Childrens Social care	The Council was at fault for its record-keeping after receiving information about the welfare of Mr B’s son. Because of this, it is unable to provide evidence that it properly dealt with the information. The Council has apologised to Mr B and has offered £500 to recognise his, and his son’s, distress. This is a suitable remedy.	None as council already remedied – we will follow up with the customer to progress these.	05/02/2021	na	na	Upheld: Malad and injustice – no further action – as council already remedied